EDITOR’S NOTE: This story is breaking, and more information will be added as it becomes available.

After a 35-34 overtime loss to Liberty, Don Brown has been fired as head coach of the Massachusetts football team.

Amid a 2-8 season, sources tell the Daily Collegian that athletic director Ryan Bamford gave an ultimatum to Brown, requiring the coach to win two of the team’s last three games to keep his job. After losing a 20-7 halftime lead to the Flames, Bamford has now ordered Brown’s dismissal.

In his second stint as head coach for the Minutemen, Brown held a record of 6-28 over three seasons. The coach led UMass to a 3-9 season in 2023, including an away win over Army that remains as the program’s last loss. Though his team stayed competitive in a series of games this season, the results were not enough to prevent a coaching change before the Minutemen head to the MAC.

Brown returned to Amherst after 12 seasons as a FBS defensive coordinator, most recently at Arizona. The coach had spent five seasons at UMass beforehand, leading the Minutemen to a 43-19 record in the FCS.

Current offensive coordinator Shane Montgomery will take over as the interim head coach for the Minutemen. Montgomery does have head coaching experience, having spent four years heading Miami (OH). As an offensive coordinator, Montgomery coached Hall of Fame quarterback Ben Roethlisberger as well as wide receiver Terrell Owens.

Before UMass, Montgomery worked as the offensive coordinator for the Buffalo Bulls between 2021 and 2022, leading the Bulls to the fifth-best offense in the FBS in terms of offensive efficiency. He spent 2023 as an offensive analyst at East Carolina before coming to Amherst.

Montgomery was hired by UMass and will look to make an abrupt switch in position for the team’s two remaining games against No. 12 Georgia and UConn.

Mehrob Fatemi can be reached at [email protected] and followed on X @MehrobFatemi.